


Throw Me In The Deep End, Watch Me Drown

by thirteenandyaz



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, SPACE GIRLFRIENDS, The Witchfinders, kinda angst?, thasmin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-09-05 07:33:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16806223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thirteenandyaz/pseuds/thirteenandyaz
Summary: Yaz held her breath as the Doctor disappeared. If the Doctor could do it, so could she. It wouldn’t be for long. She had promised her. She wouldn’t leave her. But Yaz kept holding her breath and the surface of the lake remained still. She could just about hear Graham and Ryan talking worriedly behind her but she could hardly make it out due to the roaring in her years, drowning out everything around her. Yaz held her breath until her vision began to blur and she physically had to release it. Yet still, the Doctor didn’t re-emerge.





	Throw Me In The Deep End, Watch Me Drown

**Author's Note:**

> hello! after all the lovely feedback on my last fanfiction i figured i’d have a go at another one? there are hundreds of fics based around the witchfinders now but i just couldn’t resist writing my own. 
> 
> hope you like it! :)

“You can’t just leave me tied up here! Well I mean you can but you really shouldn’t. Or at least can you loosen the ropes a bit?”  
Yaz gave a start as she heard the familiar voice of the Doctor as she approached the edge of the forest. Ropes? Yaz picked up her pace, concerned about what Becka and James had done to her friend. She caught sight of her as she stepped out of the clearing and back into the village. The Time Lord really wasn’t hard to miss, tied to a tree in the middle of the path, her hands restrained above her head. She was grumbling under her breath, completely alone, no sight of the witch hunters. Part of Yaz’s brain couldn’t help but find the sight before her strangely hot but that was quickly shut down when she remembered that if the Doctor was tied up, her life was likely in danger. 

“Doctor?” Yaz exclaimed, rushing towards her. The Doctor’s head shot up and she breathed a sigh of relief, her eyes full of hope.   
“Yaz! Brilliant! You being here I mean, the situation is slightly less than brilliant I have to admit.”  
Yaz began tugging at the ropes holding the Doctor down.   
“Don’t Yaz.” The Doctor stopped her rambling, suddenly speaking with a seriousness that Yaz had only heard a few times before.   
“I can’t just leave you tied up! Those ropes are way too tight and having your arms up like that for too long can’t be comfortable. Besides, if they tied you up they’re clearly coming back and I-“  
“Yaz.” The Doctor cut into her friend’s panicked speech. “I’m ok. I promise. I’m not hurt. I just need you to listen and trust me ok?”  
Yaz nodded silently, meeting the Doctor’s eyes for the first time since finding her. Those wide eyes were calm and full of reassurance. Yaz felt herself relax as she stared into her eyes, those beautiful eyes that Yaz had seen hold both a childish joy and a timeless sadness. She almost felt guilty. The Doctor was the one who was literally tied to a tree and yet she was the one reassuring Yaz, despite the fact that part of Yaz’s job was to look after those in need. Yaz knew the Time Lord didn’t care though. She was fiercely loyal of her ‘fam’ as she liked to call them, and would do anything to keep them safe. 

“They’ve tied me up here because they’re going to trial me for witchcraft. Probably my own fault really, waving my sonic around. I still keep forgetting I’m a woman now, of course they’d assume I’m a witch! Blimey, it really was easier being a time traveller as a man.”  
Yaz let out a quiet chuckle at that, hastily wiping away a stray tear that rolled down her cheek.   
“Anyway, sooner or later they’re gunna duck me. I need you to promise that no matter what happens, you won’t interfere. No jumping in after me or doing anything stupidly heroic like that. Terribly hypocritical I know, but we can’t risk them trialing you too. I’ll be absolutely fine! I can hold my breath for far longer than you humans and Houdini taught me how to get out of chains no problem.”  
Yaz laughed again, slightly stronger now.   
“You promise you won’t leave me?” She asked the Doctor, hating how weak she sounded but she had to be sure. She had seen the universe through the Doctor, she couldn’t bare to loose that now.   
The Doctor simply smiled with an overwhelming fondness as she looked up at her companion.   
“Yasmin Khan. You should know it’ll take far more than a witch trial to keep me away from you. I’m not leaving you, not now not ever. I promise. Get Ryan and Graham and meet me by the bank where I pulled Mother Twiston out of the lake earlier, I’ll meet you there.”  
Yaz flew at the Doctor, wrapping her arms around her waist, despite the awkward position. She rested her head on the Time Lord’s chest, listening the the steady beat of her two hearts. The Doctor strained against her bonds, longing to wrap her arms around her companion.  
“I love you, you stupid alien.” Yaz murmured.   
Now more than ever, the Doctor hated the ropes, hated the fact that they held her in place when all she wanted to do was hold her friend.   
“I love you too,” whispered the Doctor, feeling Yaz tighten her grip on her.   
The sound of approaching footsteps broke the two of them apart and Yaz looked at the Doctor once more, fear now clear in her brown eyes.   
“Go Yaz! I’ll see you soon.” Yaz nodded and smiled softly, before running back in the direction she came from to find Ryan and Graham. 

*

Yaz ran up to Ryan and Graham, breathing heavily. They took one look at her and knew something wasn’t quite right. Her cheeks were flushed and she still had a soft grin on her lips but tears were welling up in her eyes, threatening to spill.   
“Yaz are you-“ Ryan began but Yaz interrupted him.   
“I’m fine. But the Doctor’s getting ducked. Come on, I’ll explain on the way!”   
She ran in the direction of the lake, closely followed by her friends. 

As they emerged on the bank they could see a crowd forming opposite them. The Doctor was chained to the ducking chair as Becka addressed the villagers. Yaz could see the Doctor shivering and Yaz couldn’t help an involuntary sob escaping her lips. She couldn’t make out what Becka was saying but the Doctor clearly didn’t like it, somehow she looked angry and intimidating despite being chained up. She felt a comforting hand on her shoulder and turned round to see Graham standing just behind her, worry in his eyes.   
“She’ll be ok Yaz,” he reassured her. “She always is isn’t she? She’s the Doc! Besides, who knows how her alien biology works, maybe she can breathe under water” Yaz tried to smile back at Graham but she couldn’t bare to take her gaze away from the Doctor. She had never seen the Time Lord look so powerless. During weeks of travelling and facing opponents, the Doctor had always had this air of confidence and slight swagger surrounding her. But now, it was like those chains had replaced that confidence with a cold, almost bitter air.   
A harsh voice rang out over the lake, exclaiming the words Yaz was dreading.   
“Duck the witch!” Becka shouted and the three companions watched as their friend was pulled underwater.   
Yaz held her breath as the Doctor disappeared. If the Doctor could do it, so could she. It wouldn’t be for long. She had promised her. She wouldn’t leave her. But Yaz kept holding her breath and the surface of the lake remained still. She could just about hear Graham and Ryan talking worriedly behind her but she could hardly make it out due to the roaring in her years, drowning out everything around her. Yaz held her breath until her vision began to blur and she physically had to release it. Yet still, the Doctor didn’t re-emerge.   
Yaz shrugged her denim jacket off, taking a step closer to the bank.   
“Hey, hey Yaz, what are you doing?” Graham laid a hand on her shoulder. Yaz turned around to face them, tears glistening in her eyes.   
“I need to go get her, she must’ve got stuck or something,” Yaz stuttered, pulling away from Graham, but he tightened her grip slightly.   
“Yaz, you have to stay here. We can’t have you being tried too. Trust the Doc, she knows what she’s doing,” he reassured her, although his voice shook slightly.   
“They’ve kept her under for so long,” Ryan mumbled, staring at the still surface of the river. As if King James had somehow heard him from across the lake, he uttered the command and the ducking chair rose from the lake. But the Doctor didn’t rise with it.   
“No!” Yaz screamed, attempting again to lunge towards the lake, to dive in, to do anything except simply watch as the Doctor drowned. She could just about make out the sounds of the other two shouting behind her but everything was muffled by the pounding in her head. ‘Come on Doctor. You can’t leave me now’ Yaz wished desperately, hoping that some how the Time Lord could hear her. Suddenly, there was movement on the smooth surface of the icy river. Yaz felt the grips on her arms loosen slightly as the others noticed the disturbance.   
“Is that her?” Ryan breathed, disbelief clear in her voice. Yaz didn’t take her eyes off the spot, a bubble of hope expanding in her chest. She let out a sob of happiness as a familiar blonde head broke the surface and the Doctor began to swim over to her friends, exhaustion clear in her slow pace.   
“Doctor!” Yaz shouted, pulling free from Graham and Ryan and running towards the river bank where she pulled her soaking friend to her feet and instantly engulfed her in a hug. The older woman stiffened for a moment before melting into the others’ embrace, wrapping her arms around Yaz’s waist, neither of them caring that they were both now dripping wet. The feeling of holding the Doctor again was enough to keep Yaz warm anyway.   
“I was so worried about you,” Yaz whispered, burying her face in the Doctor’s shoulder. She felt the arms around her waist tighten in response.   
“I know. I’m sorry Yaz,” The Doctor replied, sincerity clear in her voice. Yaz pulled away slightly and grabbed her friend’s hands, looking her directly in the eyes. She chuckled, blinking away a few tears that had appeared in her eyes.   
“You don’t need to apologise, you stupid alien. You almost died? Are you ok?” Yaz could see the Time Lord shaking, her lips beginning to turn blue. The Doctor lent forwards and kissed Yaz on the forehead gently.   
“Of course I am. I’m always ok.” She smiled softly, which Yaz didn’t hesitate to return.   
Graham coughed awkwardly and the two women whipped around, remembering for the first time that they weren’t alone. Their friends were watching them with slightly shocked, but extremely knowing looks on their faces.   
“Hate to interrupt Doc, and I know you just almost died but we might have a bigger problem.” Graham nodded to the left where the Morax were approaching Becka, axe in hand.   
“Ah! Right! Of course. Back to business team! No, gang? Fam?” She looked confused for a second before running off towards the action. Ryan raised his eyebrows at Yaz, a smug glint clear in his eyes. Yaz blushed and punched his in the shoulder teasingly. He laughed before running after the Doctor, Yaz close behind. 

*

The console room was quiet that evening. Graham and Ryan had bid the others good night, tired from the chaos of their most recent adventure. Yaz was curled up on the sofa with a book and the Doctor was fiddling with something on the console.   
“Doctor?” Yaz asked, looking up from her book and watching her friend. The Doctor hummed in acknowledgement, still fiddling with various levers and buttons.   
“You’re still shaking.” Yaz noticed worriedly. The Doctor turned to face her and Yaz was struck by how exhausted she looked. There were dark bags under her eyes and her clothes were still slightly damp.   
“Doctor, you need to sleep!” Yaz put down her book and joined the other woman. She reached for the Doctor’s hand once more but as she did so, the Doctor’s sleeve rode up slightly, exposing bruised wrists and torn skin, no doubt from the chains and rope that she had been restrained by. Yaz gasped, and the Doctor hurried to push her sleeve down again.   
“Yaz, I’m fine! I heal quickly and us Time Lords don’t need as-“  
“As much sleep as us humans, I know you keep saying. But Doctor, you’re hurt, cold and tired. You almost drowned today! You’re allowed to need help, you don’t need to be the strong one all the time.” Yaz interrupted, softly but firmly, rubbing gentle circles onto the Doctor’s hand.   
Upon hearing this, something changed in the Doctor’s manner. She nodded, letting the bubbly exterior fall slightly, allowing herself to, for the first time in a long time, let Yaz see how exhausted she really was. Yaz gently pulled the Doctor towards her room, grateful that the other two were already asleep. She had a feeling that the stubborn woman wouldn’t let herself be helped if anyone else were there.   
She pressed a pair of pyjamas into the Doctors hands.   
“Get changed ok? I’ll go make us some tea and be right back.”   
“Amazing,” The Doctor grinned, remembering what she had said to Yaz all that time ago in Sheffield. “Thank you, Yaz.”  
Yaz grinned back, before leaving the room. She returned to find the Doctor sat up in her bed, fiddling with her fingers as she waited for her companion to return. Yaz passed a mug over and joined the Doctor in bed. They drank their tea in a comfortable silence, both wrapped up in their thoughts. Needless to say, it was the Doctor who broke the silence.   
“Seriously Yaz, thank you.”  
Yaz turned to her, smiling.   
“For what? All I’ve done is make you tea and practically force you to sleep.”  
The Doctor laughed before explaining herself.   
“I don’t know. Thank you for being you I guess?”   
Yaz grinned even wider at that, unable to believe how much her life had changed. Here she was, sat in bed with a centuries old alien, drinking tea after escaping from alien mud and a witch hunt. And yet somehow, she felt more at home and more appreciated than she ever had in Sheffield.   
“Well then you’re very welcome. But no more almost dying, you hear me?” She replied, jokingly.   
“Yes Ma’am,” The Doctor laughed, kissing Yaz’s cheek almost teasingly before resting her head on Yaz’s shoulder and letting herself finally drift off into a peaceful sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! kudos/comments are appreciated :)
> 
> maybe i’ll see you again? depends if i write anything else i guess but feel free to follow me on tumblr @ thirteenandyaz
> 
> bye!


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